France makes mistake as Sweden loses again to Kosovo

France suffered a slight setback in their World Cup qualifying campaign as the two-time champions and 2022 finalists were held to a 2-2 draw by Iceland.

Victor Palsson gave Iceland the lead in the 39th minute in Reykjavik when he headed home after France failed to deal with a free-kick in the box.

Christopher Nkunku leveled things up in the 63rd minute when he cut in from the left and fired an unerring low shot into the bottom right corner.

Jean-Philippe Mateta then completed the turnaround five minutes later, converting Maghnes Akliouche's cross to score his first senior international goal at the age of 28.

Yet it would not be the decisive moment, as Kristian Hlynssson responded two minutes later with an emphatic goal at the end of a brilliant Icelandic move.

The Blues remain in control of Group D, three points ahead of Ukraine, who beat Azerbaijan 3-1. Iceland is three points further back in third place.

While France has slipped, Germany beat Northern Ireland 1-0 thanks to Nick Woltemade's first-half header.. They lead Group A on goal difference ahead of Slovakia, who beat Luxembourg 2-0.

Belgium now takes control of Group J after a 4-2 away win against Wales. They are two points ahead after North Macedonia were held to a 1-1 draw by Kazakhstan.

Sweden 0-1 Kosovo

Sweden's hopes of qualifying for the World Cup were dashed after losing to Kosovo for the second time this campaign.

Jon Dahl Tomasson's men were beaten 2-0 in Pristina last month, and fared little better in Gothenburg, where Fisnik Asllani gave Kosovo the lead with a close-range goal in the 32nd minute.

Alexander Isak and Viktor Gyokeres endured an extremely frustrating evening as Sweden drew for the third game in a row, leaving them bottom of Group B, six points behind second-placed Kosovo with two games remaining.

Switzerland leads the group with 10 points after being held to a 0-0 draw by Slovenia.